Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Oakland 13 at St. Louis 28 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Oakland Raiders: Oakland looked overconfident - but the offense still cranked out good numbers. This loss will likely be a wake up call and shouldn't be cause for concern to owners with Raider players on their team. Charlie Garner owners will be happy to hear that he appears to show no effects from his hamstring injury. Garner didn't find the end zone, but had a very respectable three quarters of work. Garner was pulled in the fourth quarter in what appeared to be a precautionary measure. Oakland's defense looks bad right now. The Rams didn't rack up big yards through the air, but since Faulk ran the ball so well, the Rams didn't need to throw. Faulk rushed for a ton of yards and the Raider front seven looked soft and slow. In the secondary, Charles Woodson will be welcomed when he's ready to return. St. Louis Rams: QB Marc Bulger looked like anything but a # 3 QB. Oakland clearly did not take the Rams seriously Sunday, and Bulger made them pay. Bulger wasn't asked to throw a lot, but when he did he looked poised and accurate. This was Marshall Faulk's day. Faulk destroyed the Raiders. Coach Martz finally allowed Faulk to control a game and Faulk had 30 touches. (26 rushes - 4 receptions) One has to wonder why Faulk doesn't get the ball this many times in every Rams game. The Rams may not make the playoffs, but they showed Sunday that they can still play very tough and score a lot of fantasy points. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Oakland Raiders QB: Though this Raider ream appeared to be flat, Rich Gannon battled the entire game. While Oakland was outplayed by a hungry Rams team, Gannon looked good for most of the game under constant pressure. Despite Gannon's three interceptions, he still finished with a good day (30 for 45, 332 yards and one TD pass). RB: Charlie Garner owners will be happy to hear that he appears to show no effects from his hamstring injury. Garner didn't find the end zone, but had a very respectable three quarters of work - finishing with 10 rushes for 61 yards and five catches for 35 yards. Garner looked quick and strong and made all the cuts. Garner nearly made a huge TD run when he was tripped up in the secondary in the second quarter. Garner was replaced in the fourth quarter by Terry Kirby in what was described as a precautionary move. Terry Kirby wasn't effective running the ball on his three attempts, but he had very good stats in the passing game nine catches for 61 yards in a short amount of time. Tyrone Wheatley was ignored and only had one touch all day. WR: Oakland was so successful throwing the ball, it's surprising that they didn't try a spread out passing offense all day. The Raiders didn't score a lot of points, but their WRs still played very well. Jerry Rice led all Raider receivers with seven catches for 133 yards - including a spectacular 53 yard catch on the first play of the game. Jerry Porter had three catches for 48 yards and continues to be a more involved part of this offense. There were several comments that while last year his role was mainly that of a "clear out" receiver, he's a more involved player this season. While it's good news for Gannon, this is probably cause for concern among Rice and Brown owners. Tim Brown was mostly quiet and had three catches for 40 yards. TE: Roland Williams only had two catches for 9 yards and dropped a crucial pass that would have given Oakland a first down. Oakland Pass Defense: The stats are mixed. Though the Raiders only allowed 186 passing yards, Rams receivers outplayed Oakland's defense most of the time. The Rams didn't rack up big yards through the air, but since Faulk ran the ball so well, the Rams didn't need to throw. Oakland Rush Defense: This unit lost the game for Oakland. Faulk rushed for a ton of yards and the Raider front seven looked soft and slow. They had no answer for Marshall Faulk. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** St. Louis Rams QB: Marc Bulger looked like anything but a # 3 QB. Oakland clearly did not take the Rams seriously Sunday, and Bulger made them pay. Bulger wasn't asked to throw a lot, but when he did he looked poised and accurate. Bulger only went 14 for 21 and 186 yards. But he threw 3 TDs, no interceptions, and had a rushing TD. He took a beating from an aggressive pass rush but hung tough. Did not appear rattled at any time and seemed to do exactly what he needed to do to win. RB: This was Marshall Faulk's day. Faulk destroyed the Raiders with 26 rushes for a whopping 158 yards. Faulk was also dangerous as a receiver, as usual, and had four catches for 22 yards and a TD catch. Martz finally allowed Faulk to control a game and Faulk had 30 touches. One has to wonder why Faulk doesn't get the ball this many times in every Rams game. WR: Rams WRs didn't catch a ton of balls, but when they were needed they responded in a big way. They looked determined giving extra effort on the catch and then fighting for yards after the catch. They looked like a unit that realized they needed to give their young QB every advantage possible. Torry Holt had four catches for 80 yards and one TD. Holt's big play was an excellent 50 yard play from Bulger. Isaac Bruce played very well. Bruce had five catches for 70 yards and a spectacular short TD catch to put St. Louis on the board early. The TD catch seemed to set the tone for the rest of the Ram's day with a great effort. Terrence Wilkins was the only other receiver outside of Faulk to catch a pass. He caught 1 ball for 14 yards. TE: Ernie Conwell did not have any catches. St. Louis Pass Defense: The Rams had no answer for the Raider passing game - but the Rams defense did slow Oakland down in the Red Zone for most of the day. Though the Rams did allow a lot of yards through the air, they did intercept three Gannon throws. St. Louis Rush Defense: The Rams' rushing defense had a good day and only allowed 65 rushing yards. This was partially due to the fact that Oakland was playing from behind all day.